Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Kyo Update

Some of you will remember Kyo and his short stay with Mr. K and I. If you don't know him, or need a reminder, read

this post
He has been gone from us for almost five months now and I had not heard from PAALS in a few months. I was beginning to wonder how he was doing and whether or not they would be keeping him in the program. Usually, I volunteer with PAALS and would often see Kyo, or get an update because I was around, but with us moving, getting out to the PAALS location has become even more difficult. I sent an email last week to inquire about him, but didn't hear anything back. This concerned me, but yesterday J phoned me with some good news.
Kyo was temperament tested over the weekend. Dogs are temperament tested when they first enter the program, if they are a donation, and all of the dogs in training are temperament tested at about a year and a half years of age. We're not entirely sure how old Kyo is, but he under went his year and a half old test over the weekend. According to J she was "pleasantly surprised" by him and he passed. This means Kyo will move on to advanced training. Advanced training means that his skills will become more specialised and he will gain public access. Watch out SC, there will be a Moose in your malls. :) (For those of you who don't know, Kyo's nickname was Moose when he was with us).
J says that there are a few things he still needs to work on, but hopefully with time and maturity, he will outgrow his bad habits, or be willing to be trained out of them. She told me yesterday that he went counter surfing in a mall. I nearly bust a gut laughing: that sounds like our Moose. She said that they have never experienced anything like that before. If nothing, at least he's been a learning experience for the PAALS trainers. :) J also said that he still has a hard time calming himself down once he gets worked up. Both of these issues we had with him as well, but as she said, perhaps with time and maturity he will improve. I can only hope and pray that this works out for him. Even if he doesn't become a service dog, I will just be glad to know he had that chance and I will feel better knowing that PAALS will find him the perfect family if he doesn't graduate.
So, here's to Mr. Moose and his hopeful future as a service dog. :)

7 comments:

FANCY the Red Standard Poodle said...

Hi Y'all,

I am sure that Kyo will go on to be an outstanding service dog.

I understand the excitement thing. It isn't an easy thing for a dog to overcome. I think it depends on what triggers the excitement how well they learn control.

Jess, this is a normal SC spring. Hope y'all can escape back to Ontario for at least part of the summer...Be sure y'alls air conditioning is in excellent working order.

Y'all come by now,
BrownDog's Momma

Brooke, Cessna, Canyon & Rogue said...

Yay Kyo!! He will sure make someone very happy :) I was actually thinking about him the other day and wondering if you were still volunteering with PALS.

Elijah said...

Hi,
My names Elijah. I'm a new puppy raiser for Canine Companions for Independence. I'm raising my first puppy, Dembre (dem-bray)! I enjoy reading your blog. If you'd like to stop by our blog the address is:
ccipuppyblog.blogspot.com

~Elijah & Dembre

Anonymous said...

Good luck to Kyo! I'm a recent reader so I think I missed what kind of dog Kyo is? Any dog named Moose has got to be huge.

Just Jess for now said...

Brown Dog's Mama: I'm leaving for April and May, but I think a trip planned during July and August would have been better. :)
Brooke: It's really hard to get around this city and so getting to PAALS' events is really hard, so I haven't been going.
Elijah and Denver: thanks for stopping by. We'll definitely stop in. :)
Sherlock: Kyo is a Great Dane lab cross. He's not the biggest dog out there, but he's a solid 85 pounds whenwe had him.

L^2 said...

Glad you finally got another great report on Kyo. Like Brooke, I was just thinking the other day you hadn't mentioned him in a while. I'm sure he will make someone very happy, no matter what career path he chooses. :)

Angels Amber and Max DaWeenie and Mom said...

Good for Kyo. He'll do great!